Diesel Tank Access Port

[lehighsail]

I want to clean the fuel tank on my Hunter 290. I removed the back panel in the aft cabin to expose the tank on the port side and there is very limited working room above the tank and it is not below the propane tank locker. I really don't want to remove the tank completely if not necessary. My question: can I install a Seabuilt port on the vertical surface as opposed to the top of the tank? I asked the local distributor here but the answer did not give me a lot of confidence. Any experience?
Thanks.

 

[woodster]

at first i thought no way but then i went to there site and read the instructions.....now i don't know..... if it were me i think i would contact them and tell them what you are doing and get the pros and cons direct from them...i am still not convinced that would be best...some times its just better in the long run to go the harder way for peace of mind... others may disagree so i am sitting here watching to see what they say....

regards

woody

 

[Steve Dion]

I'm with Woody. Remove the tank.

When the tank is empty you can just power wash it and reinstall. No real advantage to install cleanout if you cannot do it in the boat.

 

[lehighsail]

I spoke with Seabuilt directly on your suggestion and they were very helpful. Their opinion was that their access plate can be installed on the top, the sides or even on the bottom without a problem. There is a double gasket (internal and external) and when the aluminum plates are torqued down gently they form a positive seal that can be tightened as necessary. The other advantage was that the tank can be accessed again in the future if necessary without removing the whole tank.

The other question is even if I did remove the tank from the boat, how do you power wash the interior without some type of access port?

 

[Steve Dion]

Put the nozzle in the fill port and turn it on.